Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, Iowa, Jim Sullivan column

Jim Sullivan

Nov. 5, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Forest Evashevski's speech never aged.

More than a few football coaches have told their players before a big game that they'll remember it the rest of their lives.

That's what Evashevski said to his Iowa Hawkeyes as they waited for the 1959 Rose Bowl to begin.

Yet, a half-century later, the old coach's words are vivid, fresh and powerful to a Hudson resident named Don Shipanik. Shipanik was an Iowa offensive lineman and linebacker in the one-platoon era of college football. Now, he's a man in his early 70s, a former restaurateur and admirer of the former coach, who died last weekend at the age of 91.

Said Shipanik, "The thing I'll remember about Evy was what he said in his final speech to us before we went on the field that day, was, 'you've got 60 minutes of football to play and an entire lifetime to remember it. Gentlemen, don't ever forget that."'

Shipanik paused briefly and added, "He was so right. I tell you what, I don't know what that would have been like. But, we didn't lose."

No, the Hawkeyes didn't lose. Iowa beat California, 38-12, on the first day of 1959. It was Evashevski's second Rose Bowl victory in three seasons. Thus, Iowa finished with an 8-1-1 record, good enough to earn the Grantland Rice Award as the national champions, according to the Football Writers Association of America.

A half-century later, Evashevski is gone, claimed by cancer. His accomplishments live on, of course. He remains the only coach at Iowa to win a Rose Bowl. Arriving in 1952, he revived a stalled program. By 1956, Iowa had won its first Big Ten title in 34 years.

On the field, Evashevki's skills seemed legendary. In his inaugural year at Iowa, he retooled his offense just before meeting Ohio State and upset the Buckyes for his first victory as Hawkeye head coach.

He did not dodge contoversy. Evashevski feuded with his athletic director, a man named Paul Brechler. After he left the sidelines in 1960, rumors persisted that Evashevski wanted to make a comeback as his replacements struggled. It never happened. By 1970, Evashevski was gone, fired as Iowa's athletic director after a difficult decade.

All of that is true. Yet, to a former player, Evashevki's presence mattered as much as the wins and losses.

"He commanded," said Shipanik. "He commanded an awful lot of respect.

"I think Evashevski was a man of extreme character. The man had probably more character than probably most men you're going to meet in a lifetime. He had the ability to lead people, and people really followed him."

If there's a regret for Shipanik, it's that the man didn't lead Iowa's football team a little longer.

A half-century ago, Evashevski consistently said he didn't want to grow old on the job. He was true to his word. After only nine seasons as Iowa's coach, with a Hawkeye record of 52-27-4, Evashevski stepped aside at the age of 42.

"Well, I often thought the biggest tragedy of the entire situation with Evy was when he retired," said Shipanik. "I mean, he was a young man, yet he became the athletic director. It's like he didn't belong there.

"Where Evashevski belonged was in coaching. The man had the ability to do things on the football field."

Especially in Pasadena. Only the passage of time has allowed Shipanik to understand what Iowa did to Cal's Golden Bears in that Rose Bowl.

Once again, his old coach led the way

"When you're going through it, you don't realize what you're really accomplishing," said Shipanik. "Evashevski once stated that the '58 team was the greatest team he ever coached. He thought that Rose Bowl game of 1959 ... was the greatest football game he had ever seen played from a team standpoint.

"It was just the greatest experience of my life, to be honest with you, to be not only associated with it, to be able to go through it. Everything is moving so fast. Then you go through it and as the years go by, you start to realize -- gosh, we accomplished a lot."

Time has gone by. It's Kirk Ferentz' era now, and his Hawkeyes are 9-0. He's built a successful program in his own image, one that's stood the test of time and travail.

That's what Forest Evashevski did in a bygone era. Beyond the record, though, was a coach who mattered.

His words will never age.

"He was quite a man," said Don Shipanik.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0150-39469460